Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Catholic youth have been kept busy lately thanks to the Archdiocese of Vancouver's Office of Youth and Young Adults. Office director Clayton Imoo updated Salt+Light TV with an interview this week. Find out more in this podcast.

Monday, November 29, 2010

Canada Post is inviting submissions for a new mental health stamp. Deadline is Jan. 17. Five designs will be chosen from 20 semi-finalists. These five designs will be voted on by the public from Feb. 14 to March 14. The winning design will be announced in April 2011.

Four new Christmas stamps are decorating Canadian Christmas cards this year. Canada Post has come up with a Christmas ornament series depicting "colourful glass-blown bauble images created by Canadian designer Michael Zavachy."

In addition, a Madonna and Child stamp "acknowledges the religious significance of the holiday and features a spectacular representation of this sacred scene depicting an image of a sculpture created by Italian-Canadian Antonio Caruso."

Newly published research from the University of British Columbia finds that spirituality — a personal belief in a higher power — is strongly linked to the happiness of children ages eight to 12, but religiousness — practices such as attending church — is not.

It is difficult teaching moral truth in a day of instant communication and media manipulation. The publication of a series of interviews with Pope Benedict XVI by the journalist Peter Seewald, Light of the World, is a case in point. In reading an advance copy of the book, one knew the mass media would immediately focus on one thing and one thing alone: the Pope’s remarks on condom use and the struggle to prevent the spread of AIDS.

Indeed, the first headline that I encountered after excerpts of the book were released was: “Pope OK’s Condoms”.

Briefly, this is what the Pope actually said: Condoms are neither the effective way nor the moral way to stop the spread of AIDS (the Church “does not regard it as a real or moral solution”). He also said, “we cannot solve the problem by distributing condoms”. He states that the AIDS epidemic has resulted in large measure from the irresponsible and selfish use of sexuality. Then he expresses hope for the conversion of a sinner by suggesting that the use of a condom MIGHT be an expression of his concern for the “other”. This might be seen therefore a first step toward loving and respecting the “other” so that he would eventually embrace a life of either fidelity or abstinence, the only approaches which have truly proven to be successful.

There has been debate for years over the moral legitimacy of the use of condoms by discordant couples, that is, couples in which one member is HIV positive or has AIDS. There are two fundamental moral problems which stoke this debate. First of all, taking into account the high failure rate of condoms, would it be morally licit for a spouse to put his wife’s health and even life at risk for the sake of sexual intercourse? It is difficult to see how this could be justified. The marital act is to be love-giving and open to life. In the case of a spouse with AIDS, intercourse even with a condom could well be a potentially death-dealing act.

The second fundamental moral problem has to do with the contraceptive character of condoms. It is true that the use of a condom in a single case might diminish the risk of the transmission of the AIDS virus but it could also have a contraceptive effect. The Church’s unchanging and unwavering position on the immorality of contraception is well known. But there were some moral theologians who tried to argue that the condom was not being used to contracept but rather to lower the risk of spreading AIDS. The contraceptive effect was merely foreseen but not intended. With such an understanding, it was argued, the use of the condom would not actually be an act of contraception but of disease prevention.

The matter continues to be debated among theologians but the more common opinion among moralists faithful to the magisterium is that the use of the condom would be wrong because it could endanger the life of the spouse and could be an act of contraception.

It is interesting that the Pope entirely sidesteps this particularly vexing debate by the example he uses to consider condom use. He reflects on the decision of a (presumably homosexual) male prostitute to use a condom. In such a case, there can be no question of the contraceptive effect of the condom. Consequently his example does not relate to the debate over the use of condoms by discordant couples.

But interestingly the Pope does not really reflect on the question of the effectiveness of condom use in reducing the transmission of AIDS. He rather wants to reflect on the moral state of the person who would use it with the hope that that person would begin to assume moral responsibility for his sexual activity. There is no question that the Church considers acts of prostitution and homosexuality to be gravely immoral and disordered. However, the Church in her love of souls always looks for some indication that the sinner might “come to his senses”. In the case at hand, the Pope says the use of a condom in a particular case MIGHT be “a first step in the direction of . . . a first assumption of responsibility, on the way toward recovering an awareness that not everything is allowed. . .”

Obviously this first POSSIBLE step in the direction of “moralization” cannot make an act of prostitution or homosexuality or contraception good. But it does indicate that the moral conscience might still be alive and might eventually bring one to conversion and new life.

A careful reading of the text could not possibly lead one to conclude that the Pope has approved condom use. He says quite explicitly: “it is not really the way to deal with the evil of HIV infection.” Indeed, it can aggravate it. Prof. Edward C. Green of the AIDS Prevention Research Project at Harvard University would seem to agree with the Pope. He wrote in a recent book, Affirming Love, Avoiding AIDS: What Africa Can Teach the West (Matthew Hanley and Jokin de Irala, The National Catholic Bioethics Center, 2010), “In fact, [condom use] might actually contribute to higher levels of infection because of the phenomenon of risk compensation, whereby people take greater sexual risks because they feel safer than they really ought to because they are using condoms at least some of the time.”

The interview with Pope Benedict indicates no change in Church teaching but is a renewed call for chastity and abstinence as the most effective means of fighting the spread of AIDS.

The hype over the Pope's condom remarks are turning into one of the most blatant cases of media distortion on a Church-related story ever.

For the record, in the new book based on interviews with Pope Benedict XVI, the Holy Father has not changed the Church's teaching on condoms. He hasn't modified it or even slightly nuanced it. George Weigel, who wrote a forward for the new book, offers one of the best articles I've seen explaining the teaching and summing up the whole controversy. Janet Smith offers another.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Corpus Christi College Chamber Choir will present an evening of Handel and Vivaldi Christmas music with the Infinitus String Trio at Canadian Memorial Church and Centre for Peace, 15th Avenue and Burrard Street on Dec. 18 at 8 p.m. Enjoy classic choral favourites and contemporary Christmas arrangements - wonderful for the whole family. Tickets are $15 each and available at the college, 5935 Iona Drive, at UBC. Or call 604-822-6862 or email info@corpuschristi.ca.

Monday, November 22, 2010

B.C. pro-lifer Mary Wagner of Nanaimo is back in jail again in Toronto according to her mother.

Jane Wagner says Mary was arrested this morning in Toronto while counseling at an abortion clinic (handing out flowers and talking to women). She was taken away to jail by Toronto police but was allowed to speak with her mother by phone.

"She seemed okay. She told me that one of the women she spoke with got up and left the clinic after talking to her, and that she was engaged in speaking with another when she was dragged away. She hopes she made a difference for them and their babies.She will likely be transferred to prison after she goes before the judge tomorrow morning. Please keep her in your prayers."

We will.

In July Mary Wagner was set free after four months in an Ontario women’s prison after being found not guilty of a mischief charge.Read the full story here. And a comment on the state of freedom of speech in Canada can be found here.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Next Saturday, Nov. 27, Holy Rosary Cathedral will be the site of the Vigil for Life, celebrated by Archbishop J. Michael Miller in union with Pope Benedict XVI.

The Holy Father has asked all the world’s bishops to promote the Vigil for Life during the Advent season and to invite the faithful to pray for the unborn. The vigil will include Eucharistic adoration and will start at 7 p.m.

If you're looking for individual tickets to Magnificat! at the Orpheum, Friday, Dec. 3, an updated list of parishes, schools and groups selling tickets can be found here.

If you're a parish, school or group that would like to purchase blocks of 25 tickets to sell to parishioners and others, please e-mail communications@rcav.org. We'll send you the tickets and invoice you.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

A Coquitlam church is using social media's "word of mouse" to spread the Gospel to young adults across the Lower Mainland, but the relationship doesn't stay virtual. It ends up with flesh and blood contact

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Archbishop J. Michael Miller, CSB, is inviting all college and university students including faculty to the University Students’ Mass at Holy Rosary Cathedral Sunday, Nov. 28, at 2:30 p.m. Confessions will be available at 1:45 pm and a reception will follow at Holy Rosary Hall after the Mass. More info at www.oyyam.com.

Congrats to Dr. John Stapleton, principal of Saint Mark's College and president of Corpus Christi College at UBC, who will travel to the University of Toronto this month to receive an honorary Doctor of Sacred Letters degree from Regis College, the Jesuit Faculty of Theology. He will also give the 2010 Chancellor's Lecture at the Regis College 34th convocation.

Sunday, November 14, 2010

In remembrance of victims of the Oct. 31 terrorist attack on the Syriac Catholic Church in Baghdad, Iraq, Vancouver Archbishop J. Michael Miller has sent a letter of sorrow to Iraqi Catholics at Our Lady of Good Counsel Church in Surrey, home to a large Iraqi Catholic community.

The parish is inviting everyone this afternoon, Sunday, Nov. 14, to a prayer vigil and Mass for victims of the Baghdad attack. The vigil will start at 2:30 p.m. with Rosary for the souls of martyrs. Mass for the intention of the martyrs will follow at 2:45 p.m.

The Dec. 3 event will feature the archdiocese and the VCC teaming up to co-sponsor an evening of solo, orchestral, and choir music.

To commemorate the 40th anniversary of the VCC, the Orpheum Theatre will be alive with the heavenly sounds of the world premiere of a newly-commissioned Magnificat (Song of Mary) by leading Canadian composer Stephen Chatman, a music composition teacher at the UBC School of Music. In addition, Vivaldi's Magnificat will be performed.

Martha Guth

The concert will feature the VCC, the Pacifica Singers, soprano Martha Guth, the VCC Alumni Chorus, and the Vancouver Chamber Orchestra under conductors Jon Washburn and John William Trotter.

Friday, November 12, 2010

Pope Benedict has issued the post-synodal apostolic exhortation Verbum Domini [The Word of the Lord], the most important Church document devoted to Sacred Scripture since the Second Vatican Council’s Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation (Dei Verbum), which was promulgated in 1965.

The reviews are coming in, and they're ranging from a theologian's delight, to a masterful and accessible document that puts the Catholic teaching on Scripture in clear terms for everyone.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

At this year's Canadian Country Music Awards in Edmonton, The Higgins, who hail from Immaculate Conception Parish in Delta, were invited to join a long list of Canadian country artists in recording a song titled "Standing Strong and True (For Tomorrow)" -- a musical tribute to all Canadian troops and their families.

Some of the artists that participated include Aaron Pritchett, Beverley Mahood, Terri Clark, Emerson Drive, Dean Brody, and Ridley Bent.

The song is available on iTunes for download. All proceeds will go to either the Military Families Fund or Boomer's Legacy, two foundations dedicated to supporting soldiers and their families. Visit http://wesaluteourheroes.ca and check out the moving video directed by Antonio Hrynchuk(Fahrenheit Films).

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

The new cathedral for the Diocese of Saskatoon is using world-class technology to collect solar energy using stained glass windows designed by Canadian glass artist Sarah Hall. Hall, who has created series of stained glass windows for Holy Name of Jesus Church in Vancouver, says that the new windows make use of the solar energy available in Canada's sunniest city to save on energy costs. It may be energy efficient, but it's extraordinary beautiful as well! Check it out.

Interior Health in Kamloops has released a statement on behalf of Bishop David Monroe’s family. You can read the statement at The B.C. Catholic online. They say the bishop is in stable condition but that long-term recovery is anticipated.

There's still time to register online for this weekend’s Stewardship Conference, featuring Archbishop Miller and Father Brendan McGuire. It's an excellent chance for you or someone from your parish to find out about and share a way of living that immerses one in connectedness with God and one another. You and your parish are sure to benefit.

It's at St. Helen's in Burnaby, and for those wishing to spend the night near the church, the Holiday Inn Express, 2889 E. Hastings, has given us a special price of $89 per room. Please call the hotel at 604-254-1000 to book. Quote “Stewardship Conference” when booking.

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Archbishop J. Michael Miller will lead a Vigil for Life Saturday, Nov. 27, at Holy Rosary Cathedral to begin the Advent season with prayers of thanks and protection for human life. Pope Benedict XVI has asked all the world’s bishops to promote the Vigil for Life during the Advent season and to invite the faithful to pray for the unborn. The vigil will include Eucharistic adoration and will start at 7 p.m. See www.rcav.org for more information.

Monday, November 8, 2010

I'm convinced people hear the S word (stewardship) and immediately tune out, change the channel, turn the page or click the nearest link. That may be partly because the S word comes with a lot of baggage. In the Bible the steward is usually associated with controversy and accountability, such as ripping off his master.

But stewardship is also thought of as mundane, or irrelevant to our lives. I confess that's how I regarded it until I learned stewardship is about more than finances and fundraising. Check the above video and see why responsible stewardship is something that's a core element of our Catholic faith. Then visit What's Your Talent and see how you can take part in this weekend's Stewardship Conference in Burnaby.

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah can be a guilty pleasure. It's beautiful, poetic, and rich with Biblical symbology, yet the lyrics are ambiguous to say the least. Which is why Kelly Mooney, a singer/songwriter/musician from Charlottetown, wasn't sure about singing it at Easter Mass when her parish priest asked her to.

Instead, she decided to adapt the song's lyrics to the Easter story. Then, she bravely asked Cohen's publishers for permission to perform the revised version. They granted her request, and she's now preparing a CD that will include the piece.

Here is the world video premiere of the revised song, sung by Mooney and accompanied by the Chorale Voce dell' Anima led by Monette Gould June 1, 2010, at the Monument Lefebvre in Memramcook, N.B.

By now you're likely familiar with the story of Father Damien de Veuster who lived among the lepers on Molokai Island in Hawaii. (Saint Damien is the unofficial patron of those with HIV and AIDS.)

Now the play Damien is coming to North Vancouver's Presentation House Theatre, Nov. 16-28. The San Francisco Examiner says the play confronts Saint Damien's struggle with self-doubt and undying compassion towards what he originally describes as a dumping place for human beings. “Damien is a heartrending portrait of a selfless priest determined not to let the lepers think that God has abandoned them.”

Meanwhile, the other San Francisco paper, The Chronicle, has this account of a writer's experience visiting Molokai. It's worth a read.

The "warped practice of eugenics is rising from its Nazi tomb" in Australia, an Australian bishop says.

Bishop Peter Elliott, head of Melbourne's John Paul II Institute for Marriage and the Family told mass-goers in Bendigo Cathedral on Sunday: "A seek-and-destroy policy kills little human beings in the womb because they are 'guilty' of Down Syndrome, dwarfism or other imperfection."

St. Paul was speaking to the Corinthians, not to new parents, when he said, "Behold, I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed..." (1 Cor. 15).

Yet there had to have been some new parents suffering from sleep deprivation among the Corinthians who had special appreciation for Paul's words. Let's make Elizabeth Withey an honorary Corinthian...she clearly needs a little shut-eye.

Thursday, November 4, 2010

The BBC reported on a new Catholic seminary in Cuba. It's the first seminary opened since the revolution of 1959. Unfamiliar with the history of the Catholic Church in Cuba? So am I. Wikipedia provides a small description of the history which helps provide some background to understand why this new seminary is BBC newsworthy.

Forbes has come out with their list of the World's Most Powerful People. They ranked Pope Benedict XVI as the 5th most powerful person. To see the full list, click here.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Rachael Dillman was about nine years old and a fellow parishioner at St. Augustine's in Kitsilano where my wife and I met. One day we heard Rachael singing and asked if she'd consider singing at our wedding. She agreed, and her Ave Maria melted the hearts of everyone present.

That was 13 years ago. Now Rachael's 22 and still singing, mostly at Holy Rosary Cathedral. Next week she's going to be performing with the grand old man of Vancouver music, bandleader Dal Richards, who invited her to make a guest appearance with his orchestra at the River Rock Show Theatre Saturday, Nov. 13, 1 to 4 p.m.

Nice to see Prime Minister Stephen Harper is all in favour of adoption. His personal website has an adoption link right on the front page, with a link to a photo and description of an Adoption of the Week. It's a terrific idea, all the more so because it's National Adoption Awareness Month. (OK, so he's promoting pet adoption rather than child adoption, but why quibble?)

Sarah McLachlan

I've always maintained the Prime Minister of Canada is in an ideal position, regardless of his or her stance on abortion, to reduce the number of abortions by helping to promote a national adoption strategy. It would be wonderful to see the Prime Minister, and for that matter animal cruelty opponent Sarah McLachlan, herself an adoptee, give humans the same degree of importance as animals.

Finally, anytime is a good time to watch the wonderful You Don't Have to Be Perfect to Be a Perfect Parent adoption/fostering ads at www.youtube.com/user/adoptuskids.

The Globe and Mail has a clever promotion right now called Our Time to Lead. The Globe is doing a series on major Canadian issues such as multiculturalism, health care, work-life balance, military, and as part of the series you can design your own newspaper front page with a headline you'd like to see. There's also a gallery where you can see and rate the front pages others have created. All humility aside, I like mine the best.

It's Adoption Awareness Month, and so time to revisit the state of adoption in Canada. In May Conservative MP Maurice Vellacott tabled a motion calling on the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills, and Social Development to examine current federal support for adoptive parents and their adopted children and report back to the Commons with its findings. The motion passed unanimously.

Vellacott wants to see improved services and resources for adoptive families and birth parents through government initiatives, and witnesses are being invited to make presentations before the committee. LifeCanada helped gather names of people to provide testimonials on adoption, and now it's launching a national education campaign to promote awareness of adoption and encourage the public to see adoption in a positive and compassionate manner.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

One hour of parliamentary debate took place yesterday on Bill C-510, MP Rod Bruinooge's attempt to give legal protection to women who don't want to be pressured to have an abortion. Only one MP, Conservative Kelly Block, spoke in support of the bill. Here is the Hansard transcript of the debate.

The Catholic Organization for Life and Family (COLF) has issued a new message to families on work. Entitled “Work + Love = Holiness,” the brochure examines how work is related to human dignity. It describes work as an obligation and a responsibility since God has given everyone particular talents to develop. Click here to read about the document and for a link to read and download it.

You may be hearing a lot about Roxanne in the next few days. "Roxanne's Law" is a piece of legislation scheduled to begin debate today in Parliament.

The legislation is named for Roxanne Fernando, a Manitoba woman whose boyfriend attempted to coerce her to have an abortion after she became pregnant in 2007. After refusing to have her unborn child killed, Roxanne was beaten and left to die in a snow bank.

Bill C-510 is a private member’s bill introduced by Rod Bruinooge, an MP from Winnipeg. Click here to watch a short video about the bill.

The proposed amendment to the Criminal Code would criminalize the act of coercing a woman to have an abortion against her will. Under this law, a pregnant woman could press charges against a boyfriend, parent or someone else who attempts to coerce her into having an abortion. You can watch the first hour of debate at 8 a.m. Monday (Nov. 1) PT on CPAC.

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